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Other , 0 Comments May 29, 2017

While Kosovo may not be the most visited tourist attraction on the Balkans, its capital, Prishtina, is becoming more and more famous among foreign tourists for its diversity, as well as its vicinity to major destinations on the Balkans.

Just like Prizren, Prishtina was also part of the turbulent history which saw shifts of numerous empires in its old days, such as the Ottoman Empire, which left traces of its influence in numerous mosques throughout the city. Beside this historical richness, Prishtina has an abundance of new architecturally interesting pieces built in recent years which can all be reached on foot. Its mixture of historically significant buildings, modern and somewhat weird new state-of-the-art designs, as well as its futuristic projects, make Prishtina a place that perfectly combines the past, the present and future, all in one.

The National Library – Bearing resemblance to the Library of Birmingham, the National Library in Prishtina is regardes as one of the oddest buildings not just in Prishtina, but in whle Europe! Its domes and cubes lined next to and above each other are covered in what looks like chain mail. Tourist are always amazed by its intricate design as well as its size, which is rather striking on a typical winter day in Prishtina.

The Monument of Brotherhood and Unity – As the name indicates, this monument is dedicated to future unity of Serbs, Albanians and Montenegrins in hope of improving the relations destroyed between these nations during the Kosovo War in 1998/9. In that honor, three columns 15 meters high were built, with each of the column representing one nation.

Saint Nicholas Church – due to the fact that most of the population in Prishtina is comprised of Albanians, this is the only Serbian Ortodox church that still operates and holds daily masses in Prishtina. The building dates from the 19^th century, hiding many valuable paintings and frescos dating from the 18^th century and painted by many famous artists. Unfortunately, they were all heavily damaged during the unrest in 2004 and couldn’t be repaired. After that incident the church remained closed until 2010, when church was again opened to the public featuring new wall paintings and icons, as well as restored roof and refreshed interior and exterior. For this occasion, a couple of hundreds believers attended the opening ceremony.

A must while visiting Prishtina is to visit korzo, the most crowded walking area in the city. The korzo itself has numerous cafes, restaurants and pubs situated along the street, so one can either join the crowd and walk up and down the street, or just sit back and relax in one of the pubs and observe the hustle and bustle of the night life.

Prishtina can be easily reached, as it has an airport, Prishtina International airport, which offers cheap flights to surrounding metropoles and further. Beside the airport, Prishtina also has the Bus Station, which operates on daily basis and is connected with the nearby countries, first of all Montenegro and Serbia,, but also offers bus links with  Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, Turkey, Macedonia, Bosnia, etc.

Today Prishtina has a lot of attraction to boast of, including numerous mosques and remnants of the Ottoman Empire, which tell the history of the town, together with the new wave architecture, which, if you’re interested in diversity of cultures, styles and traditions may just be your cup of tea.